Machine for separating metal sheets



Jan. 23, W23.

J. A HELLSTROM. MACHINE FOR SEPARATING METAL SHEETS. FILED FEB. I 1922.

3 SHEETS'SHEET 1 Jan. m, 1923.. 1,443,117

J. A HELLSTROM MACHINE FOR SEPARATING METAL SHEETS.

FILED FEB. I. 1922, 3 SHEETS-SHEET 2 Jam. 23, W23.

MACHINE FOR SEPARATING METAL SHEETS.

J. A. HELLSTROM.

FILED FEB, I I922 3 SHEETS'SHEET 3 Patented ti an" 2%, i923),

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Application filed February 1, 1922. Serial 110.533, 141.

andresident ofVVheeling, county of Ohio,

and State of West Virginia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Ma chinesfor Separating Metal Sheets, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates broadly to apparatus of the class ortype commonl termed sheet openers, and more specifically to mechanism for separating the adhering sheets of neta'l packs; u

The primary obj ect of the invention is to provide mechanism. whereby metal sheets which have become bonded'in the rolling of the pack have their bondsbroken by an op: eration in which the sheets are bodily stripped o'ne from the other.

A further object is toprovide a sheet separatlng mechanism by which the separatedsheets are delivered in a flattened con- (lit/i011, ready for piling, as distinguished from the irregular, curled, or otherwise dis tortedforms common to delivery from prior mechanisms of the general type to which this invention belongs. i

With these and otherobjects in view, the invention resides in the featiilres of construction, arrangement of parts and combinations of elements which will hereinafter be fully described,reference being bad to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a front elevation of a machine constructed in accordance with my invention;

Figure 2 is a section on line 2-2, Fig; 1;

Figure 3 is a top plan view of said machine; and- Figure 4 is an enlarged section of the rolls and spreader bar.

Referrmg to sald drawings, 1 indicates roll housings 1n which are arranged suitable bearings 2 and 3 carrying rolls l and 5, re-

spectively, the upper bearings 2 being car ried by vertically movable rods 6 sustained by coil springs 7 which, through the inter mediate parts referred to. normally serve to yieldingly support said upper roll -IL. in an elevated position. Screws 8 mounted in the upper parts of the housings have their lower ends seated upon the upper bearings and are adapted to be adjusted downward against the tension of the sprin 's 7 for lowering the roll 4- with respect to the roll 5. It will be noted that a more or less conventional conshown, said bar is ovoidoconical inform in cross section and is positioned so that the blunt ridge-like edge 9 thereof is presented toward and in theplane of the pass between the rolls. Further, the position of said bar such that narrowfeedpassages or guideways for sheets are provided between the convergently inclined upper and lower sides of said ridge and the upper and lower rolls, respectively. u

While the form of spreader bar above described is at present preferred, itis to be understood thatbars or rods of other forms as,for instance, a rod of true cylindrical form, may be substituted therefor.

In practice, the operator spreads apart the ends of thesheets 1.0 to be. separated and, with the sheets resting, or partially resting, upon the feed table 11, he introduces thesaid edges of the upper andlower sheets through the upper and lower guideways, respectively, to a position where they are together seized by the rolls, which latter then act to draw said sheets inward, as shown in Fig. 4;, and to deliver the same to a table 12, preferably of roller form, by which they are advanced to an out-oit-the-way position. As is obvious, the rolls exert a powerful traction for drawing the sheets over opposite sides of the spreader bar, whereby said sheets are forcibly stripped one from. the other.

Due to the substantial correspondence in the diameters of the rolls 4: and 5, the sheets exerted by the springs 7. Said means coinprises an arm 13 rigidly carried by each of the adjusting screws 8 and having handle portions it which extend to suitable points in which one or the other thereof will always be within COIWQlllGllt reach of the operator. A transverse tie-rod or bar 15 connects said arms so that lateral swinging increment titans ward, or away from the roll 5, under the force given to either arm forproducing rotar r movement of one screw is imparted in equal measure through the other arm to the other screw. It will be understood that the thread-pitch of the screw is such that a small fractional part of a rearward revolution suffices to allow the roll 4 to be elevated out of frictional drawing relation to underly ing sheets. Thus, a slight blow of the hand of vthe operator against either handle 14 in a direction for reversing the screws will sufiice to effect release of sheets gripped by the rolls.

What is claimed is l-. A'sheet separating apparatus comprising upper and lower rolls arranged in cooperative sheet-advancing relation, and a spreader bar located in front of the pass between said rolls and spaced from the latter to provide upper and lower guideways leading to said pass.

2. A sheet separating apparatus comprising upper and lower rolls arranged in cooperative sheet-advancing relation, and a spreader bar located in front of the pass between said rolls and spaced from the latter to provide upper and lower guideways leading to said pass, said bar having a tapered ridge presented toward and in the plane of said pass.

3. A sheet separating apparatus comprising upper and lower rolls arranged in cooperative sheet-advancing relation, the up per roll being shiftable vertically with respect to the lower roll, and a spreader bar located in front of and at a spaced distance from said rolls whereby are provided two convergently inclined guideways leading to the pass between said rolls.

4. A sheet separating apparatus comprising upper and lower rolls arranged in cooperative sheet-advancing relation, the upper roll being shii'ta ble vertically with respect to the lower roll, and a spreader bar located in front of the pass between said rolls, said bar being substantially ovoidoconical in cross section and presenting its ridge-like edge toward said pass, said bar being spaced relative to said rolls to provide two convergently inclined guideways leading to said pass.

5. A sheet separating apparatus comprising housings, upper and lower bearings in, said housings, rolls journaled in said bearings and adapted to cooperate for advancing sheets introduced therebetween. the upper bearing being sliiftable vertically for moving the upper roll into and out of co operative relation to the lower roll, a feed table located in front of said rolls, and a transverse spreader bar supported by said housings over the inner end of said table and positioned to provide intermediate its upper and under sides and the upper and lower rolls, respectively convex-gently in elined passages through which sheets are guided to the pass between said rolls.

In testimony whereof, I aiiix my signature in presence of two sul'lscribiug witnesses.

JOHN A. ll ICLIS'IROM.

Vitnesses H. E. DUNLAP, CHAS. V. Sol-linen. 

